Kanex mySpot

Kanex didn’t make the functionality of its mySpot ($60) crystal clear at first, but now that we’ve had a chance to explore it, it makes sense and is actually pretty darn cool. Heavily advertised as a solution for hotel rooms, it’s a tiny wireless router—although that term is never used by the company. The 2.75” x 1.0” x 0.75”, 1.1oz device turns any wired internet connection into a Wi-Fi network for use with your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or any other wireless devices.

To create your wireless network, just plug an Ethernet cable into one end of mySpot and find a USB port for the plug at the other side. This can be an empty USB port on your computer or a standalone wall adapter; either way, it works the same. From there, you use an integrated web page to change settings such as the network password. Of course, you can create an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network from your Mac itself, but this allows you to skip that step and could really come in handy for times you’re traveling without a computer. It’s kind of like a much more compact version of the AirPort Express, minus a handful of the features.